I was hoping the kid would find himself early this year, they really need him to get his game together and contribute in Pittsburgh by mid-year

It was because of poor defensive play. He is outstanding on the power play but has made rookie mistakes leading to many odd-man rushes coming against the Pens. After a three-game losing streak (the team's first in 3 years), something drastic needed to be done and it seemed now like it was the right thing to do.

digitalgypsy66 - Bonvie announced his retirement, effective at the end of this season. He's doing a 'farewell tour'. However, he did break his finger this week so he may not play as many games as he had hoped.

K2 - As for Boogaard's fight, I'd score it a draw with an edge to Brennan. That's not an indictment of Boogaaard, but this was his first pro fight and Brennan is an experienced AHL heavyweight.

pensfannn - I think that this coaching staff does an outstanding job in developing prospects mentally. There's no question that Letang has the physical tools to be in the NHL. But, for the past few years, he's been dominating all of his competition. He won't be able to just rely on his talent in this league.

Coach Richards has shown, since he's been the coach, that he's not afraid of benching or scratching anyone. He's done it to Christensen, Talbot, Welch, Schremp, Letang, Goligoski, and almost every time, the prospect has responded very well during the next game. Each time that he does bench a highly-rated prospect, they know why.

You saw near the end of Letang's NHL tryout last year that he struggled defensively because he was going all-out offensively. That same mentality that he could get away with in juniors will not work here and has contributed to a few goals against. When the team had its' first 3-game losing streak in 3 years, something had to happen and Letang's scratch was a good signal.